Potential GOP presidential hopefuls rip health care law

Published 6:36 pm, Saturday, April 12, 2014

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told conservatives: "We are going to repeal every single word of Obamacare."

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told conservatives: "We are going to repeal every single word of Obamacare."

Photo: Jim Cole, Associated Press

Potential GOP presidential hopefuls rip health care law

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Manchester, N.H. --

Republicans eyeing the 2016 White House race battered President Obama's health care law and nicked each other Saturday, auditioning before a gathering of conservatives that some political veterans said marked the campaign's unofficial start.

A speaking program packed with potential presidential candidates weighed in on the House Republicans' controversial budget, the party's struggle with Latinos and the GOP's future while taking turns facing hundreds of conservative activists.

The Republican Party's near-universal opposition to the president's health care law dominated the conversation just days after Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius resigned after leading the rocky rollout of the program derided as "Obamacare."

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz declared that one resignation is not enough. "We are going to repeal every single word of Obamacare," said the first-term senator and Tea Party favorite.

"His whole stance is to knock the hell out of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security," Trump said of Ryan. "I would leave it alone."

The summit comes as prospective presidential candidates begin to step up appearances in key states ahead of the 2016 presidential contest, even though New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary isn't planned for another two years.

"It's the unofficial kickoff of the 2016 process," said Republican operative Mike Biundo, who managed Rick Santorum's last presidential campaign.

Conservatives also criticized another potential presidential contender who was not in attendance, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who recently suggested that many immigrants enter the United States illegally because of love for their families.